One night Pírán received a messenger,
Who bade him wait upon Afrásiyáb.
The monarch spake about the past: “My heart,”
He said, “is yexed by thoughts and grief too hard
To put aside; this child of Siyáwush
Hath, so to speak, o'er??ast my day; but will
High policy allow a shepherd-swain
To rear one of the race of Farídún?
If ill through this child hath been written for me
No caution will avert it; 'tis God's doing.
But while the child suspecteth not the past
Let him be glad and we too will rejoice;
Still, if he showeth any evil bent,
He, as his father did, must lose his head.”
Pírán replied: “O king! thou needest none
To teach thee. This boy is as mad folk are!
What notions can he have about the past?
A child brought up by shepherds on the mountains
Is like wild animals; what can he know?
The foster-father told me yester-night:—
‘The boy is comely but devoid of wits.’
In spite of beauty, stature, form, and Grace,
The prince's head yet lacketh understanding;
Vex not thyself and think no more hereof.
What said the sage—a man exceeding wise?

‘More potent than the sire the nurse will prove,
But the great secret is the mother's love.’
If at this time the king shall order me,
I will present this lauded youth to him,
But make me easy by a promise first
And swear by such an oath as kings employ.
Sháh Farídún, when he affirmed a matter,
Swore by his crown and throne and diadem;
Túr, who enjoyed both fortune and high state,
Swore by the Ruler of the universe;
And that great king Zádsham, thy grandsire, swore
By Him that ruleth Saturn, Mars, and Sun.”
The wits of fierce Afrásiyáb were lulled
At hearing this, he swore a royal oath
By white day and by sombre night, by God—
The Omnipotent, the Maker of the world,
The Maker of the sky, the soul, and beasts:—
“No harm shall come upon the boy through me,
And I will never breathe sharp breath on him.”
Pírán then kissed the ground and said: “O king,
Who judgest justly and art wed to justice!
Be wisdom evermore thy guide to good,
Be earth and time the dust beneath thy feet.”
He came in haste to Kai Khusrau with cheeks
Like cercis-blossom, glad exceedingly,
And said: “Put wisdom from thee. If the king
Shall talk to thee of fight, talk thou of feast.
Appear before him as an alien
And speak insanely, show no kind of sense,
And thus thou mayst perchance outlive the day.”
Pírán equipped him with a royal crown
And belt, and called for him a pretty palfrey
Whereon the shrewd, young hero sat and rode
Toward the palace of Afrásiyáb.
Tears filled the eyes of all on his account,
And shouts were raised before him: “Clear the way:
The brave aspirant to the crown hath come.”
When he arrived Pírán the general
Took him before the king. The grandsire's cheeks
Grew wet with tears of shame, meanwhile Pírán
Shook like a willow, fearing for Khusrau.
The king remembering his pledge and spurning
All fell designs, gazed in astonishment
Upon that royal neck, the young man's hands.
His gait, his bearing, and his dignity.
There was a pause. The monarch's face relaxed,
And love at length prevailed within his heart.
“O youthful shepherd!” said Afrásiyáb,
“Describe to me thy life by day and night.
On what wise hast thou shepherded thy flock?
What is the number of thy sheep and goats?”
Khusrau thus answered him: “There is no game:
Besides I have not arrow, bow, or string.”
The monarch asked him next about his teacher,
And whether he was prosperous or not.
Khusrau replied: “Where'er there is a leopard
The hearts of valiant warriors are rent.”
Afrásiyáb the third time questioned him
About Írán, his parents, and his home.
“The rending lion,” thus he made reply,
“Is not o'er-powered by a fighting-dog.”
The king said: “Wilt thou go hence to Írán,
To him who is the monarch of the brave?”
Khusrau thus answered him: “Two nights ago
A horseman passed me on the hills and plains.”
The monarch smiled and blossomed like a rose,
Then asked of Kai Khusrau in gentler tones:—
“Dost thou not wish to learn to write? Hast thou
No wish for vengeance on thine enemies?”
He said: “There is no cream upon the milk:
I fain would drive the shepherds from the plain.”
The monarch smiled at what Khusrau had answered,
And turning to the captain of the host
Said thus to him: “The fellow is a fool:
I ask of heads; he answereth of feet!
In sooth no good or ill will come from him:
Of other stuff are they that seek revenge.
Go! Send him by the hand of some good man,
And let his mother have him back to her.
Dispatch him to Siyáwushgird, allow
No evil teachers to resort to him,
But furnish him with treasure, money, steeds,
Attendants, and whate'er may serve his needs.”